NHS chief says £50m fund set up to balance books

David Sissling, chief executive of the Welsh NHS, has created a contingency fund of £50 million to help with predicted deficits this financial year.

Mr Sissling said he was in agreement with a prediction that the Welsh health service could have a £70 million deficit this year.

The Welsh Audit Office (WAO) said the health service could have a debt of £130 million by April 2013.

The WAO has based its predictions on local health board data and said the Welsh NHS will "most likely" have a deficit of £70 million, but it could be more.

Mr Sissling appeared before the Welsh Assembly's public accounts committee and said he thought the predictions were a "realistic and reasonable assessment of the scale of pressure in the NHS".

He added: "What we are accepting is that is the level of pressure and therefore pressure means we have to respond."

"We always knew this year there would be pressure in the system. Part of our role in looking at that pressure and in a sense the risk associated with the pressure is to ensure we've got strategies and plans to allow that risk to be managed, to make sure that if necessary we can provide the right kind of intervention and support and ensure that there will be a break-even and appropriate year-end position."

Mr Sissling gave the results of a review to Health Minister Lesley Griffiths, who will make a statement on the issue next week.